News Updates

Preservation Alumni's blog is a convenient location to see what is happening with other Alumni as well as get news and updates on what is going on in the Preservation community. Please check back often!

Detroit is an exciting place to live and work. There is energy on the ground here, fueled by passionate advocates, entrepreneurs, artists and others all working to move the city forward.

I work as a preservation specialist for both the Michigan Historic Preservation Network and the National Trust for Historic Preservation focusing on issues at the intersection of preservation and rightsizing (the readjustment of a city’s infrastructure and physical footprint to accommodate its current and projected population).

Through my work and partnerships on the ground, I aim to bring preservation to the table as a proactive participant alongside other decision-making entities involved in city planning, neighborhood revitalization, and also demolition campaigns around the city in a way it hasn’t been in the city previously. To achieve this, I work at the macro level alongside citywide organizations like the Detroit Land Bank and Detroit Future City as well as at the neighborhood level through strategic workshops and education of property owners, developers, and CDCs about the tools available to do good preservation work.

Preservationists are taught, and our professional experiences reaffirm, that preservation and rehabilitation are critical neighborhood revitalization tools. But in a rightsizing context – with Detroit, and cities like it, being inundated with millions of dollars in demolition money – it’s challenging to have that message heard across the board. I recently wrapped up a two-week intensive survey of 18,000 historic properties in Detroit using smartphones and volunteers as part of a project to provide a preservation perspective to help inform demolition decisions. Detroit is a different landscape than we learn about in school and necessitates new ways of thinking about what preservation means. The threat of demolition of thousands of historic properties – some viable and some not – is ongoing and imminent.

While I’m the only person from my organization in Detroit, I have colleagues across disciplines that help support and contribute to the work I do; the opportunities for cross-pollination of ideas and projects here is invigorating and inspirational. The collaborative environment in Detroit is unparalleled.

I love this city so much that I’ll be getting married here this May! In addition to the venue in Detroit, we’re supporting the community as much as possible through our Detroit- and Michigan-grown menu items, local musicians, and local beers and wines.

In my spare time, I love to shop for produce at Eastern Market on Saturday mornings; ride my bike along the Dequindre Cut, a formerly defunct railroad passage; lounge on the beach at Belle Isle, weather permitting; and explore the architecture of the many neighborhoods of Detroit. This winter has provided many opportunities to become adept at snow-driving and windshield-scraping. And last spring I managed to squeeze in a couple of Tigers games too.

At the end of the day, I hope to have helped change the conversation around preservation in Detroit, repositioning it as a proactive and positive force that contributes to neighborhood revitalization through the retention and celebration of Detroit’s historic built environment.

This edition features Amanda Crawley, a 2008 graduate from Columbia GSAPP with an emphasis in preservation planning. She has been the Executive Director ofHistoric Kansas Citysince 2011 and is the proud owner of a 1919 cottage in the South Plaza neighborhood of midtown Kansas City.

What trends/challenges are non-profits dealing with?

I'd say that most of the trends and challenges fall in to two main categories: building and retaining membership and breaking down misconceptions, both of who we are as a group and what preservation is at-large. To attract members, first and foremost we must to be able to demonstrate that we are successful in our mission to save historic buildings. For HKC, this means focusing on advocacy and policy while also ramping up our outreach and exposure strategies, particularly through online communication and social media.

Weare also developing and promoting innovative member benefits that appeal to a wide audience. For example, we've recently started a new members-only tour series called Urban Explorers in which we take groups into buildings and places not open to the public. We've toured active construction sites, underground tunnels and warehouses, and luxury condominiums. As long as it’s interesting and exclusive, they will come!

In terms of breaking down misconceptions, we've been working hard to align our efforts with current issues and interests, particularly sustainability, right-sizing, tourism and economic development. We've started a very successful and active Young Preservationists group, have entered into a formal affiliation with popular interest group calledKCModern, and will continue to explore innovative partnerships. In order to be successful in this day and age we need to align ourselves with interests and movements outside of preservation.

What are some recent successes and saves for Historic Kansas City?

Historic Kansas City partnered with a local neighborhood association to oppose the proposed demolition of four apartment buildings in theOld Hyde Park Historic District. The owner, a real estate development company based in New Jersey, was claiming economic hardship. For months, Historic Kansas City engaged in
community and stakeholder meetings, and our involvement in the case culminated in a public presentation to the Historic Preservation Commission. The commission voted unanimously to deny the certificate of appropriateness based on economic hardship. The buildings are now in a three-year waiting period before a demolition permit could be issued. We will continue to engage with stakeholders and developers to ensure a positive long-term outcome for the buildings.

Also, Historic Kansas City worked with stakeholders and interested parties to raise awareness for an endangered historic farmhouse called 3 Gables. The Gothic Revival house is possibly the oldest in Kansas City, the first two rooms being constructed in 1824. Historic Kansas City helped facilitate an application for listing on theKansas City Register of Historic Placesand included the house on our Most Endangered List. After an article published in a local newspaper, a sensitive buyer stepped in to save the building and they are currently working on rehabilitation.

What is the most thought provoking or challenging project you are
working on right now?A proposal has recently surfaced to build a Neutra case study house in a midtown Kansas City historic district. Most of the houses in the neighborhood were built in the early 1900s and represent a variety of styles, but are primarily large Craftsman and Classical Revival homes on expansive lots. One of the homes in the neighborhood is one of two Frank Lloyd Wright houses in Kansas City. The owner of that house has proposed splitting the lot and selling a portion to the individual who wants to build the Neutra house. To even further add to a set of complicated circumstances, the other neighboring house is the former home of artist Thomas Hart Benton; currently a house museum and State Historic Site. Needless to say this is an interesting set of circumstances requiring careful research and evaluation.

What is the most important thing that you learned at GSAPP?What I learned in terms of preservation law, zoning and land use has been most beneficial in my current position. While knowing the basics of architectural history and evaluating historic significance is an essential framework, most of our advocacy entails public policy work and requires comprehensive strategies involving multiple disciplines.

Get the ins and outs by the seat of your bike as you travel around one of NYC's most scenicundefinedand significantundefinedneighborhoods. Get the inside scoop on Olmsted’s parks, Grant's Tomb, Columbia University, Saint John the Divine, and a host of other institutions that made Morningside Heights the quintessential “Acropolis of the New World" by the turn of the twentieth century. Architectural Historian Gregory Dietrich and Adam Cohn will lead this cycle-delic tour which promises to leave no cornerstone unturned.